


wandering bee seeks the rose

by girlmarauders



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Parents, F/F, Hockey Mom, Rule 63, meet cutes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 17:09:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20911148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlmarauders/pseuds/girlmarauders
Summary: Jamie Benn coaches a youth hockey team and Tyler is a determined Hockey Mom. Meet cutes and queer women and youth hockey





	wandering bee seeks the rose

**Author's Note:**

> This turned out longer than my original idea of "Tyler would be such a dick as a Hockey Mom". The title is from [Mary's Sang by Marion Angus](https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/marys-song/), which is a sad poem but I always loved the "wanderin bee it seeks the rose" line.

Jamie was pretty sure she was about to get fired and, honestly, she was stressed about it. She _liked_ her job. Mrs Seguin had come and found her after practice, when all the kids were done and Jamie was putting all the pucks and cones away, and had gotten really mad about the line combinations.

“Uh,” Jamie had said, holding the bag of pucks in front of her like it was going to protect her. Mrs Seguin came to every practice and game, and paid attention the whole time, leaning on the boards chewing gum loudly and watching the kids skate. She didn’t really socialise with the other moms. “The lines are determined based on practices, and, uh, goals for each player,” she said.

Mrs Seguin rolled her eyes, really unsubtly, and made a flicking motion with her hand, like she didn’t believe Jamie. Her fingernails were a kind of peachy cream colour, and a really nice shape that Jamie thought was pretty and intimidating at the same time.

“Bullshit,” Mrs Seguin said. “Sarah works hard every practice, and she’s a top line player, I know she has what it takes.”

“Uh,” Jamie said, because she really hadn’t expected to have to defend this, and also Mrs Seguin was very pretty, and intimidating, and she hadn’t raised her voice at all, which Jamie could take. Instead her tone was really dismissive, which made Jamie feel embarrassed, and maybe like she was blushing, which was even more embarrassing. “Mrs Seguin, I can’t discuss line positions with you, but I treat every player fairly,” she said, trying to stay polite and firm. Mrs Seguin made a face.

“Mrs Seguin? What the hell?” she said. She flicked her fingers again. “My name's Tyler. And I don’t want to discuss the lines, I’m telling you Sarah is a lot better than the line she’s playing on and I want you to do something about it.”

“Um, well,” Jamie said. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Great,” Tyler said, and flipped her hair over her shoulder. She looked at Jamie one last time, and then turned and walked out of the coach’s room, leaving Jamie holding the bag of pucks still in one hand. For Jamie’s first real interaction with a parent, that hadn’t gone very well.

She carefully put all the cones and pucks away, and then paused by the door to take several long, deep breaths. She’d tell Monty about it, he’d tell her it had been a good run but they both knew it wasn’t going to work out, especially with Mrs. Seguin - Tyler - getting mad about the lines, and Jamie would go home and cry at Jordie like a failure.

When she found Monty in his office, he just laughed.

“Oh yeah, Tyler, she’s a real pain in the ass, I should have warned you,” he said, and Jamie didn’t know what to say about that so she just stayed quiet. Monty pushed away from his desk, and turned to look at her. Jamie liked him; he'd taken a chance on her last year assisting with the bantam team, and now he was taking a chance on her with her own mite team. “My recommendation,” he said, “is to ignore her until she realises she can't get what she wants by hassling you. There's always a parent who thinks their kid is special.”

Jamie had a few private reservations about that. Firstly, _all_ the parents thought their kid was special. Tyler was just the first one to shout at Jamie about it. Also, she wasn't sure when Tyler would lose interest in Jamie's failures as a coach. She had seemed pretty determined.

“Okay coach,” she said, and Monty nodded at her. She went back to the bench and picked up all her things, her coaching notebook, her jacket and snapback, her whiteboard and a couple of crappy whiteboard pens, and walked out to her car. A few of the parents were still chatting in the parking lot, kids running around or being corralled into minivans.

Mrs Seguin - Tyler, Jamie corrected herself - drove an open-top sportscar that was way too small for hockey gear, and definitely not safe, but all the kids went crazy over it, and there was always an appreciative crowd of boys and some determined girls gathered around it. Sarah was at the centre of the crowd, clearly preening at the attention.

“Sarah, c'mon let's go, before you get a giant head, there's only space for one drama queen in the family,” Tyler said, heaving Sarah’s bag of hockey gear into the back seat of her car. It barely fit.

“Mommm,” Sarah whined, rolling her eyes so hard her whole head moved. Tyler didn’t even blink, just stuck her tongue out at her daughter.

“Get in the car. C’mon, stop being such a pylon,” Tyler said, opening the car door even as Sarah stuck her tongue out back.

“Mom! I’m not a pylon!” Sarah shouted, and scrambled into the passenger seat, her honour clearly in need of defending.

“Huh? What’s that? Did the pylon in my car just talk?” Tyler said, and then revved the engine to scare away the cluster of kids in her parking spot. Once they were clear, she pulled the car out of the spot and Jamie thought this particularly tormenting day was over.

It was not to be. Tyler slowed the car down next to Jamie, who was loading her bags of stuff into the back of her pick-up truck. It was green, with grey patches where the paint had been scraped off, and it had once been Jordie’s, but it worked for her. Next to Tyler’s sportscar, it looked like how Jamie felt standing next to Tyler.

“Hi Coach Jamie!” Sarah shouted, from inside the car. Jamie smiled at her. Even if Tyler was terrifying, Sarah was a good kid. Tyler had been right in a way; she was a hard-worker, fun to play with, and never complained.

“Hi Sarah,” Jamie said. “What are you doing after practice?”

“Uh,” Sarah said, momentarily stumped, and looked at her mom. Tyler didn’t look angry with Jamie.

“We’re gonna go have pizza till her dad comes to pick her up,” Tyler said, and Sarah whooped.

“Pizza?” She asked excitedly. Tyler smiled indulgently.

“Yeah kiddo, don’t tell your dad,” she said, and then looked at Jamie. “Say thanks for practice to Coach, Sarah.”

“Thank you!” Sarah warbled. Like most 8 year olds, she carried out conversation either at top volume, or an indecipherable whisper.

“You’re welcome,” Jamie said politely. “Have a good time at pizza.”

“Thanks,” Tyler said, and then winked at her, before she revved the car engine and peeled out of the parking garage at twice the recommended speed limit. Jamie felt a little like someone had rung her bell on the ice, only she was standing in the parking lot of the rink, still holding her jacket and her coach’s notebook. She watched one of the moms load kids into her minivan, and then shook herself out of it and got in her truck.

When she got home, the apartment was empty. Jordie was probably at his girlfriend's. There was a note on the fridge door that said "take chicken out of freezer!" When she opened the freezer, there was a sticky note stuck to a packet of chicken that said "this one!" She left it on a plate on the counter to defrost. Jordie did most of the cooking between them, because he liked it, and Jamie had no idea what she was doing in the kitchen.

She worked out in her room, just some weights and stretches, since she was sweaty from the kids’ practice anyway, and took a shower. She heard Jordie come home when she was toweling off.

“Jamie, you home?” Jordie shouted from the hall.

"Yeah!" Jamie shouted back. "Out in a minute!"

Jamie had lived with other people at college, but ever since she'd moved back to BC she'd lived with Jordie. She knew she was on borrowed time; Jordie was probably only a few months away from proposing to his girlfriend. It had been on the horizon for a while, but Jamie was still nervous about it. She didn’t like change.

She dressed quickly, and pulled her snapback over her wet hair. Jordie was cooking in the kitchen.

“Hey,” she said, leaning against the doorframe.

“Hey. How was practice?” Jordie asked, without turning around from the stove.

“Fine,” she said, and then paused. “Uh.”

Jordie turned, his forehead creased as he frowned.

“Woah, what’s up Chubbs?” he said. She made a face. Jordie was such an asshole.

“Quit it. One of the moms yelled at me,” she said. Jordie looked sympathetic.

“That’s rough man,” he said. “What did Monty say?”

Jamie crossed her arms over her body.

“To ignore it,” she said. "He says she's a pain in the ass."

"Who?" Jordie said, and Jamie went and sat at the kitchen table, bracing her elbows on the surface.

"Tyler. Her kid, Sarah, she's really good," Jamie said.

Jordie pulled plates out of the cupboard.

"Let me guess," he said. "She was shouting at you about ice time?"

Jamie nodded.

"Uh, yeah," she said. Jordie turned to put food on the plates.

"Can you grab the forks?" he said, and Jamie popped up to open the cutlery drawer, grabbing a fork and knife each. "You should probably listen to Monty. You can't let the parents walk all over you," Jordie said, putting plates on the table. Chicken and rice and veggies. They were both easy to please.

"I know," Jamie said, and played with her food a little when they both sat down. "I was hoping...you know, that they'd like me."

She didn't say that she'd hoped Mrs. Seguin, specifically, liked her, because she knew Tyler had played pro for a few years, and had won two NCAA championships while in Boston. Women hockey players weren't famous exactly, but Jamie had followed it closely her whole life. She'd recognised Tyler's name. It didn't help that Tyler was gorgeous, and exactly the type of femme woman who didn't look twice at someone like Jamie.

Jordie put his fork down.

"Geez, Chubbs, you look like they broke your heart. Not everyone's gonna like your decisions, but you're a good coach. Monty wouldn't let a bad coach get a second look at a team of their own. You're gonna do great," he said. Jamie ducked, feeling herself blush, and dug at her food with her fork.

"Thanks," she said. They were silent for a bit, and then Jordie obviously changed the subject with a story about a guy from the bike shop, and Jamie stopped blushing to listen. She had a good brother. She was lucky.

Nothing had prepared Jamie for the job of coaching. Sure, she'd played hockey as a kid, usually on boys teams because she was good, and bigger than them, and her parents hadn't worried because they knew she'd had Jordie to protect her. Jordie had taught her how to hit, when coach hadn't bothered to teach her, and he'd happily taken on a reputation as a bit of a brawler in to get in fights with guys who tried to trip her. She'd played hockey at college too, in North Dakota, where she'd gotten a Business and Sports Administration degree. Jordie hadn't gone to college, but he'd got a certificate and they both worked at the same construction firm now. She had a lot of experience playing, that was for sure, but coaching was totally different. Kids asked her questions, and sometimes they would cry and Jamie would have to talk to them about it, and also she needed to make sure they developed as players and people. It was a lot of pressure.

She always showed up to practice early, and the next practice was no different. She collected all the stuff she needed, cones and pucks and her grimey coaching whiteboard. Monty was in his office, the tiny converted closet with an ancient computer and generations worth of coffee stains on the desk, and she said hi and made some smalltalk, and then went and sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs rinkside and made notes in her notebook, watching the bantam team who had ice before her with one eye. Her notes were mostly drills. It helped to write it all out, the drill, the skills it involved, what she wanted to see during it, things to watch out for.

She was sat near the entrance to the rink, and she could hear kids arriving, being herded into the dressing room by their parents. Kids were noisy and there was a lot of shouting, screaming, complaining (“_Mom_, I can do it _myself_”), and the banging and clattering of equipment. There were a couple teens who helped out at practice to help towards their hours for a coaching certificate, and they both got on the ice as the bantam team filtered off.

“Hey Coach,” Cathy said, skating up to the barrier. She was a junior in high school, and one of Jamie’s favorite assistants. Jamie passed her the bag of cones and pucks over the barrier.

“Divide up the ice for me?” She said, and Cathy nodded, taking the bags.

“Sure thing,” she said. Jamie pulled her skates on, and swapped her snapback for her helmet, and, checking to make sure no kids were looking, swung herself over the barrier onto the ice.

Practice went quickly as always, kids at the stations with the assistants, and Jamie floating between them, correcting, and talking to the kids in groups before they moved stations. They finished with a couple scrimmages, and Jamie let momentum carry her to lean against one of the barriers to watch the kids play. She could see some of the moms out of the corner of her eye, and put her elbows on the barrier edge to lean.

“They’re getting a lot better about staying on their feet,” a husky voice said, and when Jamie looked over, it was Tyler, leaning over the side of the barrier. She was actually gorgeous to look at, long brown hair, and a playful smile, a scar above one eyebrow that was only partially hidden by makeup. Jamie felt herself blushing again. God, she was such a loser. Couldn't she talk to one devastatingly beautiful woman with super high standards without losing her cool?

"Yeah," Jamie said, and watched as one of the kids desperately tried to turn. "They're getting there."

Tyler leaned her elbows on the barrier, and her expression was wistful.

“You play on a team?” she said, and Jamie, surprised at the sudden interest in her life, shook her head.

“It’s hard to find the time, around coaching and work,” she said. “I’m a warm body on my brother’s team sometimes, if they’re short. What about you?”

She was asking to be polite, mostly because she wasn’t sure what other conversation to make, but Tyler snorted.

“I broke my leg on the ice a couple years after I had Sarah,” she said, matter-of-factly. “There’s still metal pins in there. If I broke it again my doctor would definitely kill me. Plus I’m slow as hell now. Not really into getting the crap kicked out of me by some beer leaguers.”

Distantly, Jamie wondered if she should be offended, since she guessed she was technically a beer leaguer, but then decided it didn’t matter.

“You broke it in a game?” she asked.

Tyler nodded.

“Yeah, hurt like a motherfucker,” she said, not looking to see if any kids were listening. Jamie really hoped they weren’t, she was gonna get in big trouble if any of them repeated that.

“That sucks,” Jamie said, because she had no idea what else to say, but she didn’t want Tyler to stop talking to her, and she wanted more details. Tyler flipped her hair over one shoulder, like she was dismissing the thought.

“Yeah,” Tyler said, and shrugged. “Well, I was probably close to retirement at that point, and then Sarah’s dad wanted to move to BC while I was recovering, and there’s no pro-team out here.”

“It’s still cool you played. You’re still Boston’s point leader, you know,” she said, and then blushed red, because it was kind of lame she knew that.

Tyler shrugged, and then smiled, a little self-deprecating, but kinda like she was happy that Jamie was impressed.

“Yeah, it was pretty cool,” she said, and then looked out on the ice. “I’m glad someone thinks it’s cool, Sarah could care less.”

Jamie looked back out at the kids, realising she hadn’t checked in ages. The stations were going fine, but two of the assistants were just talking to each other, and not watching the kids, and Jamie knew she needed to intervene.

“Sorry, sorry,” she said, looking at Tyler, and gestured at the ice, already skating away backwards, and Tyler just smiled and said “no worries, on you go coach,” so Jamie figured she was okay.

Jamie had hoped she’d get a chance to talk to Tyler again before the end of practice, but a kid fell over at the end, and started crying and Jamie had to get her to her mom, and explain that yes, Jessica was fine, she was just shaken up after the fall, no it wasn’t a serious injury, yes she’d been watching her, and by the time that was over she only got to see Tyler leaving, Sarah and her gear in tow. Tyler lifted her hand as a goodbye, she was already through the rink’s turnstyle entry/exit system, and Jamie waved back, feeling a little lame.

After that, Tyler always talked to her at sometime during practice, or afterwards. Sometimes it was during a lull in practice, or sometimes with Sarah hanging off her arm, shouting “_Mom_ can we _gooooo_?”, but she seemed to always make a point to at least stop and say hi. Jamie supported the ‘nucks, like everyone else she knew, but Tyler supported the Bruins, and when no kids were around, would swear a blue streak any time they lost.

They didn’t only talk about hockey. Tyler was divorced, and would occasionally complain about her ex, or the logistics of shuttling a kid back and forth between two families, although she never said anything around Sarah. Jamie talked to her about Jordie, and her need to find a new apartment now that Jordie was engaged. Tyler listened when Jamie talked about her work, and Jamie listened when Tyler talked about the sportswear company she worked at doing -- something, Jamie wasn’t sure what.

Jamie was less intimidated by her as time passed, but Tyler didn’t get any less devastatingly beautiful, but she was funny, kinda goofy sometimes, and she was passionate about a bunch of stuff Jamie only had ambivalent feelings on, like cars and clothes. Occasionally Tyler would bitch her out about Sarah’s ice time during games, but now Jamie could see Tyler’s crooked smile, and tell her to get stuffed, because they were surrounded by kids and she couldn’t say fuck. They texted, first just about hockey, and then about Tyler’s dogs, and then just about anything, so regularly Jamie always had at least one text to read when she woke up.

This lasted through the whole winter, every practice, and sometimes after the kids’ games as well. Like every year, the season seemed to speed by, until it was February, and then March, and then it was the last practice and the kids were giving her a coach’s gift, and Jamie was having to blink back tears, because this was her team, they’d done so well, they’d all learned so much.

She had to take a minute in the coach’s changing room to collect herself afterwards, and it was nearly half an hour after the end of practice when she was walking up to Monty’s office and heard Tyler’s voice saying. “Hi, sorry, I was looking for Coach Benn?”

“She’s just down the hall, let me get her for you Mrs. Seguin,” Monty said, which was weird as hell, because Jamie had stopped thinking of her as Mrs. Seguin in her head a long time ago.

“Jamie!” Monty shouted down the hall, sticking his head out the office door, and then he noticed her. “Oh there you are, Mrs. Seguin wanted to talk to you.”

She normally saw Tyler when she was still sweaty from practice, either in a helmet or the gross helmet-hair she got when she took it off, but she’d showered in the changing room, and had her snapback.

“Looking good,” Tyler said, smiling, when she stepped out of Monty’s office, and Jamie blushed.

“Uh, thanks,” she said, and Monty made a sound, not quite a grunt.

“I’ll let you ladies talk,” he said, and went into his office and shut the door. Thank god. The last thing Jamie needed was Monty making comments about Tyler wanting to talk to her. The door closed, and Jamie looked at Tyler, and Tyler looked her up and down, a very obvious once-over that made Jamie’s skin prickle.

“_MOM_!” interrupted Sarah’s voice, from down the hall, and Tyler turned so quickly her hair whipped around her head.

“I will be there _in a minute_ Sarah,” Tyler said, in a tone hot with frustration. “Go and wait by the car, I swear to God.

“God Mom, _fine_,” Sarah said snippily, and then disappeared around the corner at the end of the rink hallway. Tyler huffed, and then carefully flipped her hair back over her shoulder and turned back to look at Jamie, smiling brightly.

“Sorry,” she said. Jamie waved a hand.

“It’s okay, don’t worry,” she said. For a second there was a pause, and Tyler reached up to scratch the back of her neck.

“Um,” she said, and Jamie tried to keep her posture relaxed. Was Tyler nervous about talking to her? Was she about to say that Sarah wasn’t coming back next year? Something about her coaching? She felt sweaty.

“I was wondering,” Tyler said, completely oblivious to Jamie’s distress. “Would you like to come over for dinner sometime? At mine? I mean, now the season’s over, it wouldn’t be weird.”

Jamie felt a little like she had left her body.

“Uh, I’d like that,” she said, nervously taking her hat off and smoothing her hair down. Tyler smiled.

"Awesome. I'll text you? to find a time?" she said, Jamie nodded, and smiled a little, unable to keep it inside.

“Great, great,” Tyler said, distracted by Sarah making a groaning sound from down the hall. “I am _coming_ Sarah, christ. Uh, just to be clear, this is a date. I’m asking you on a date.”

Jamie nodded.

“I got that,” she said, her smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

“Okay, good, great,” Tyler said quickly. “I’ll text you.”

From the end of the hall, there was a crashing sound, and then Sarah shouting "_Mom_!" and Tyler rolled her eyes hard.

“Right, okay, I’m going. I’ll text you,” she said again, and then turned and jogged down the hall. Jamie watched her go, her hands still stuck in her pockets, smiling to herself like a loser. A _date_. Jeez. She needed to find something to wear.

&&&

They texted back and forth, and Tyler had to reschedule once when her ex suddenly became unable to babysit, and Jamie got more and more nervous about it. Jordie was useless about it, and all of Jamie’s usual bros were also useless, and just told her things like “chill out man” and “it’ll be fine”. She was not sure it would be fine, but the evening rolled around regardless, and Jamie was left in a pair of khakis and a sports bra, standing at the end of her bed trying to pick from three different button-ups.

Jordie appeared in the doorway.

“You can just pick one, you know Chubbs,” he said sardonically. Jamie glared at him.

“Shut up,” Jamie said, but not very hotly. She didn’t have the energy to argue. When she glanced at her watch, she had twenty minutes before she absolutely needed to leave, and she needed to not hit any traffic. “Just help me, you asshole.”

"Wear the green one," Jordie said, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe.

“You think so?” Jamie said, nervously. Jordie expression didn’t change.

“Yeah, it looks good. Put on a shirt and get in the car,” he said.

“Okay, okay, jeez,” Jamie said, and put on the green shirt, doing up the buttons and leaving only the top one undone. She’d done her best with her hair, which wasn’t very good, and put her black snapback on over it backwards. “I’m going, I’m going,” she said, when Jordie raised an eyebrow at her.

“I guess I shouldn’t wait up,” he said, and Jamie flipped him off.

“Fuck off,” she said, and Jordie laughed at her and when she left he just shouted “have fun!” from the kitchen.

It was a quick drive to Tyler’s house, and she didn’t hit any traffic, so she just focused on driving and not being nervous, even though her stomach felt empty and jumpy, like maybe it was about to tie itself in a knot.

Tyler’s place was a big sprawling house with a nice lawn, kid’s play equipment visible around the side of the garage, and two sports cars parked in the three car garage. Jamie felt nervous just driving near them, and parked in the driveway, and when she got out of the car, Tyler was waiting in her open front door.

“Hey,” she said, when Jamie was within speaking distance. “Come on through to the back, I put the grill on.”

Jamie swallowed, and tried to smile as Tyler turned and walked into the house, expecting her to follow. Usually at the rink Tyler was wearing a coat or something, and she’d caught a glimpse of a couple of Tyler’s tattoos, but she hadn’t realised that both her arms were completely covered. Jamie tried not to stare too obviously as she followed, closing Tyler’s front door behind her. The quick glimpse of the inside of Tyler’s house made Jamie maddeningly curious. There were pictures on the walls, of Tyler and Sarah, and women with a strong family resemblance, and lots and lots of pictures of Tyler’s dogs.

“I hope you eat meat, I didn’t think about it until I’d already ordered everything,” Tyler said, when they stepped out onto the patio.

“I eat meat,” Jamie said, taking her hat off nervously. Tyler smiled, her whole face lighting up.

“Sweet,” she said. “Well, let’s eat. Can I get you a beer?”

Tyler got Jamie a beer, and they sat at Tyler’s patio table, and then Jamie wasn’t so nervous any more because Tyler had a lot of very loud opinions about the on-going Leafs vs Bruins playoff series, and Jamie disagreed with most of them. They bickered about it until a timer went off on Tyler’s phone, and she scrambled to pull it out of her pocket and turn it off.

“Oh hey, that means the food’s ready,” she said. “Come and help me, I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Neither do I,” Jamie said, but followed Tyler to the grill anyway, and stood next to it while Tyler moved the foil packages onto a plate. There were standing close, and Tyler’s arm brushed against Jamie’s stomach.

“Well, it’s the blind leading the blind then,” Tyler said, and looked up at Jamie, her eyes bright and full of humour. It was only a tiny movement for Jamie to shift her body so that Tyler was well inside her personal space, and they were leaning in towards each other, Tyler still smiling, and then they kissed. Tyler was maybe a couple of inches shorter than her, so Jamie barely had to bend to kiss her, and her mouth was soft and lush.

When they pulled apart, slowly, Tyler was still smiling, and Jamie carefully put a hand on her waist.

“Hi,” she said, and Tyler grinned.

“Hey,” she said. “Let’s eat.”

Jamie nodded, and let herself release from Tyler, pulling her hand back. She wanted to kiss her again, but restrained herself. Tyler put food on plates, looking over her shoulder a few times to smile at Jamie, like she couldn’t stop herself.

“Here,” Tyler said, and put a plate in her hands. “I wanna have a beer and eat, and then I wanna pick that back up,” she said, and Jamie blushed.

“Sure,” she said, and let Tyler sit down, and then followed. It was fish and potatoes, and it looked really good. “This looks great,” she said.

“I got it all on order, they just gave me the instructions,” Tyler said. “Don’t get too excited, I’m a terrible cook.”

Jamie smiled around her food, and Tyler took a big swig of her beer, her throat working. Jamie tried to contain herself, but her mouth felt dry, even around the food. There was an undeniable feeling, the energy of the date changed from playful to something else. Jamie wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about hockey anymore.

They drank more of the beer, and both of them said more good things about the food, and then Jamie asked Tyler about her dogs, and that conversation lasted the rest of the way through food, until it was just the two of them talking over empty plates. It was still early summer in Victoria, and the sun was low over Tyler's backfence, the air a little colder than before. For a moment, the conversation lulled, and Jamie played with the label of her beer bottle, wanting desperately for something to start, to make a move, to kiss Tyler, but not sure what to do next.

Tyler moved, and put her ankle up against Jamie’s, the only place they were touching.

“I’m sorry for bitching you out at the beginning of the season,” Tyler said, and grimaced. “It was a dick move.”

Jamie swallowed her reflexive “it’s fine”.

“Yeah,” she said, and then smiled. “You got pretty worked up about it.”

Tyler looked at her, and then seemed to realise she was joking, and flapped a hand.

“I get competitive, it’s a hard habit to break,” she said, but she was smiling. “You’re a good coach.”

Jamie stopped, surprised.

“Really?” she said, and her surprise must have showed on her face, because Tyler nodded.

“Yeah, you’re great. The kids love you, you work real hard at it, even the parents like you,” she said, and Jamie could feel herself blushing. Tyler met her eyes, and took a long drink from her beer, her throat working. She swallowed, and shivered. “It’s getting cold, let’s go inside,” she said, and Jamie nodded. Conversation had let Jamie pretend they were just talking before, but now she was reminded of why she was here, just the two of them in Tyler’s backyard.

“Sure,” she said. They collected the plates and uneaten food, and Tyler kept touching her, putting her where she wanted, touching her elbow when she wanted her to move, standing so close their hips would touch. She followed Tyler into her kitchen, putting dishes on the sink, and then helping load the dishwasher and box food in tupperware to put in the fridge. Jamie wanted to indulge her nosiness, root through Tyler’s fridge shelves, and read the scribbled notes stuck to the fridge door, but she restrained herself. Jamie liked this part of dating, the days where they slowly revealed themselves, layer by layer, everything from how they organised their fridge to their darker fears. With Tyler, it felt even more intoxicating than usual.

She turned from putting a tupperware in Tyler’s fridge, and she was standing right there, up close in Jamie’s space, just smiling and waiting. She put a hand on Jamie’s waist, and they kissed again, Tyler’s hand moving up and down Jamie’s side, like she just wanted to touch her. Every time Jamie pushed into the kiss, Tyler would make a noise, a little exhale or a tiny bitten-off moan. It was extremely encouraging.

Tyler’s hands got adventurous and were soon under Jamie’s button-up, just carefully petting the skin on her hips, Tyler’s fingertips warm and gentle. The kiss was wet, not careful at all, and Tyler bit Jamie’s lip and sucked on her tongue, opened her mouth and let Jamie slip her tongue in, and then pushed back, not letting Jamie take control but constantly giving and taking, like she didn’t want to win or lose, she wanted to play the game forever.

Jamie turned them, and then she was pushing Tyler up against the closed fridge door, her hands on Tyler’s waist. She broke the kiss, and put her mouth on Tyler’s neck, scraping her teeth over her skin, and Tyler just moaned and said “oh yeah” like she’d been waiting for Jamie to catch up.

“Yeah?” Jamie said, because her brain was empty, Tyler’s fingertips were skating the edges of her sports bra, and the she kissed her again, pushing their hips together. They were nearly the same height, but Tyler clearly didn’t care, and pushed and shoved until Jamie’s thigh was between her legs and taking half her weight as she ground down, moaning into the kiss.

Jamie couldn’t stop kissing her. Tyler’s hands skated up Jamie’s back, ruching her shirt up around her waist, and then couldn’t go any further. Jamie broke away to fumble with the buttons of her shirt, because that seemed like the logical next step, and Tyler groaned and pulled away from kissing her neck.

“I have a bed,” she said, and Jamie stopped. “Wanna go there instead of the fridge?” she said, and Jamie nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s do that,” she said, in between bending to kiss Tyler again. They wriggled apart, and then Tyler grabbed her hand and kissed her again, like she didn’t want to stop.

“You have to show me the way,” Jamie said, laughing, when they broke apart, and Tyler made a face and then laughed.

“Oh yeah, c’mon,” she said, and pulled at Jamie’s hand. The lightning quick journey through Tyler’s house didn’t trigger Jamie’s curiosity this time, mostly because it was faster and she had something to focus on, like every time Tyler stopped them to make out, or Tyler ass when they went up the stairs.

“Here,” Tyler said, and Jamie didn’t even get a good look at the room because Tyler pulled them in, sat down on her bed, and immediately pulled her shirt off.

“Fuck,” Jamie said, and put her arms around Tyler so she could kiss the top of her breasts, run her hands up Tyler’s back and down her sides. She was pale, and her bra was black, and she had the most amazing tits, Jamie was maybe going to die. "Your tits are amazing," she said, slightly muffled by Tyler's chest.

Tyler cracked up, and her breasts shook in Jamie's face, and that made Jamie laugh, and then Tyler shoved them both over and laughing, and maybe, Jamie wasn't going to lie about it, screaming a little, they toppled over and landed on Tyler's bed.

Tyler kissed her hard, and fumbled at the hem of her shirt. Jamie broke away to pull off her shirt, and then they were kissing again, like they were both drowning and desperate for air from each other's mouths. Tyler didn't stop touching her, her hands on Jamie's shoulders, pushing and pulling, not afraid to put her where she wanted her, and Jamie just went with it, until she was on her back, Tyler grinding on her thigh, making a high gasping sound.

"Fuck," Jamie said, and reached around to the clasp of Tyler's bra. "Can I?" she said, and Tyler nodded, grinning. Jamie unhooked it onehanded, and Tyler let her pull it free, sitting back on Jamie's legs. Man, she looked amazing, her black jeans and pale skin, her hair a little mussed and hanging over one shoulder, her amazing soft tits and pink nipples.

"God, you look so good," she said, and Tyler flipped her hair back. Her smile was smug, kinda cocky, and it made Jamie feel like she'd said the right thing.

"Yeah?" Tyler said, and reached behind her to pull her hair into a messy bun. She had to know it made her tits look fantastic. Her hands went to the button of her jeans, and Jamie got the hint, undoing her jeans, and then, when Tyler got off her legs, shimmying out of them.

"Fuck yeah," Tyler said, and then stripped out of her jeans quickly. Jamie wanted to watch, because Tyler had long legs, and her black underwear matched her bra, but then Tyler kissed her again and her face was busy for a while. Jamie, unconsciously, reached her hands out for her and Tyler came, crawling onto the bed and laying her whole body on top of Jamie's. Everywhere they were touching was exhilarating, the softness of Tyler's stomach, her tits pressing against Jamie's sports bra, the smooth skin of her legs.

Tyler grinned at her.

"You are so fucking hot," Tyler said, and Jamie blushed all over, even though they were both naked and being embarrassed was stupid.

"Really?" Jamie said. She'd never thought she was that much to look at. Not terrible maybe, but she dressed pretty butch, and didn't care about a lot of looks stuff, and a small part of her always thought maybe she should be shaving her legs and growing out her hair and other things she rationally thought were bullshit. People being attracted to her always surprised her. Tyler looked at her like she'd asked a really stupid question.

"Uh, yeah," she said, heavily implying she had barely stopped herself from finishing the sentence with 'dumbass'. She ran her hands up Jamie's arms, and repositioned herself so her leg was between Jamie's. "You're built as hell, and you've got gorgeous eyes, and you're really cute. You're a catch."

Jamie's blush was even worse now, and she kinda wanted to bury her face in her hands, because Tyler had just said that all out loud while naked, but then Tyler bent and kissed the top of her breasts, and ran her thumb over Jamie's nipple through the fabric of her sports bra. Jamie felt a shiver run over her skin, right from the root of her hair down her arms and legs, and took a shaky breath.

"Take this off?" Tyler said quietly, and Jamie nodded quickly. She reached behind herself and undid the clasp, and pulled her bra off over her head. She put her hands back on Tyler as soon as she could, stroking the soft skin of her lower back, the shape of her shoulders, the edge of her tits. Jamie felt like she was trying just to keep up as Tyler kissed her neck and then detoured to her breasts, kissing, which felt fine, and them sucking lightly, her teeth under her lips just catching, which felt amazing and made Jamie groan.

She gripped Tyler's shoulder tight, maybe too tight but it was hard to focus with Tyler's mouth playing with one nipple, and her fingers on the other, just lightly pinching, enough that she could feel it. Tyler's leg was between hers, and it felt good to move her hips, feel the pressure against her cunt, feeling turned on and wet and more and more desperate. Tyler was breathing hard and she pulled away slightly to nip at Jamie's skin with her teeth, her big eyes looking up at Jamie.

"Hey," she said, with a smile, and Jamie tried to catch her breath a little, smiling back.

"Hey," she said. Tyler bent to kiss her chest, and then looked up at her.

“I really want to finger you,” she said, her expression earnest. Jamie squirmed under Tyler a little. She really wanted that too now.

“Yeah,” she said, and when Tyler tucked the tips of her fingers into the waistband of Jamie’s underwear, she lifted her hips to make it easier. Tyler’s fingers were cool and gentle against the inside of Jamie’s knee, the sensitive skin on her thighs, and she kept kissing her, her stomach, the side of her waist, her nipple, and then finally, scraping her teeth against Jamie’s neck. Jamie turned her head to the side and caught Tyler’s mouth in a kiss,

Tyler was responsive and energetic, and made noise in the kiss to let Jamie knew she liked it, and her hand slid down Jamie’s side, and then between her legs. She’d always gotten wet easily, and it had been a long evening of expectation, watching Tyler talk and knowing that this would happen later. She was really turned on.

Tyler paused for a second to lick two of her fingers, not even trying to make a show of it which was sort of hotter than if she had, and then she slid them over Jamie’s cunt, through the wetness and then gently finding the folds around her clit, Jamie gasped, because it felt good but wasn’t quite on target, and turned so she could get a leg over Tyler’s hip, to give her a better angle and so she could kiss Tyler’s soft mouth.

Jamie tried to pull Tyler closer, because she wanted more but didn’t know how to say it, that she wanted Tyler to put her fingers inside her, she wanted to feel more and quickly. They kissed, and Jamie groaned because then Tyler did push two fingers inside her, sliding easily and feeling so good, no stretch just sweet pressure.

It wasn't magic - it took Tyler two tries to figure out Jamie liked pressure against her clit more than rubbing, but then she pressed her thumb hard against her clit and fucked her with two fingers. And when Jamie made noise she responded, kissing her or her neck, and moving her fingers the way she wanted, rubbing hard against her from the inside, crooking her fingers. When they kissed Jamie could only open her mouth, and let Tyler kiss her, gasping and groaning. She wanted to roll them over and ride Tyler's hand, she wanted to come, she never wanted it to stop.

"Good?" Tyler asked, not slowing down at all.

"Yeah, yeah," Jamie said, because she was right on the edge of it, she could feel it. She caught a glimpse of Tyler's bright smile, smug and joyous, and then she bent down a little and sucked at Jamie's nipple. Jamie jerked, and then it all went right at once, Tyler hit the right angle over and over again, and the nip of her teeth at Jamie’s nipple sent warm waves up her spine, her muscles tightening and releasing over and over.

"Fuck," she said through gritted teeth. "Fuck."

Tyler hadn't slowed down, and was looking up at her, watching her face as she came, still finger-fucking her even as she tightened up.

"Oh god," Jamie said, as the pressure became just on the side of too much. Tyler licked her nipple gently, and then pulled away when she jerked with a shocked "ah!". The shocky post-orgasm feeling was spreading through her body, the liquid heat dissipating and replaced by satisfaction and pleasant ache.

Tyler's fingers were still inside her, and she squirmed on them, humming in pleasure. She probably couldn't go again, it usually took her a little while to build up to a second orgasm, but it still felt good.

“Good?” Tyler said, and Jamie nodded, reaching to Tyler’s shoulder to pull her up for a kiss.

“Mm, I feel great,” she said, and then laughed breathily when Tyler moved her fingers again. “Mmm, I’m good I think,” she said, and Tyler kissed her again, slowly pulling her fingers out.

"You're good at that," Jamie said, rolling them so she could hold herself up and kiss Tyler. She looked so smug Jamie couldn't help herself.

"Mmm," Tyler hummed happily, into the kiss, and Jamie kissed her neck and her collarbone, and the top of her breasts. She was gorgeous.

"What do you like?" She asked, sliding her hand down Tyler's side. She wanted to pay back the favor a hundred times over. "What can I do?"

Tyler pulled at her shoulders so they were all pressed together, the soles of her feet pressed against Jamie's calves. She kissed her, wet and deep, and hard enough Jamie felt a little fission of happiness run through her.

When they pulled apart, Tyler's gaze went to Jamie's mouth, watching as she licked her lips. She raised an eyebrow, and Jamie liked how bossy she was, how aware of what she wanted.

"Can I eat you out?" she said, and Tyler grinned.

"Fuck yeah," she said. "God yes Jamie, I'd like that.'

That was as clear an instruction as Jamie had ever heard. She kissed Tyler's mouth, her neck, the skin between her breasts, her stomach, hard and toned, the tattoo on her ribcage. She could hear Tyler's hushed breathing, feel her stomach rise and fall, and she wanted Tyler to feel so good, as warm and happy and spoiled by life as Jamie currently felt.

Tyler's pubic hair was dark in between her legs, and Jamie rested her head on Tyler's leg to get a sense of the lay of the land, running two fingers over Tyler's cunt, moving hair out of the way.

"Yeah," Tyler said, on an exhale, and spread her legs to give Jamie more room. It was really hot, and Jamie was trying to focus. She kissed the inside of Tyler's thigh, and then just went for it, licking across the folds of Tyler's cunt, tasting her. Fuck, it was so good, feeling Tyler's legs around her head, the taste of her, the distant sound of Tyler's reactions. She licked Tyler's clit, and then harder when Tyler groaned and grabbed at her hair. She wanted to do what Tyler wanted.

"Fuck, yeah, oh fuck," Tyler was saying. Jamie licked at her clit in a steady rhythm, Tyler getting wetter and wetter against her face, her legs tightening against Jamie's head. It felt so good, and then Jamie sucked on Tyler's clit, and Tyler's leg kicked out and her grip tightened in Jamie's hair.

"Oh, fuck, shit," Tyler said, her hips arching off the bed, Jamie trying to move with her. She kept licking, more gentle presses of her tongue, until Tyler shivered all over and pulled at Jamie's hair. "Fuck, God, come here," She said, all in one long pleasured slur.

She kissed Jamie straight away, sticking her tongue in her mouth and pulling them so the were pressed together all over, warm and a little sweaty. They made out like that for a while, sticking to each other, until Tyler shivered.

“Roll over,” she said, “I wanna get under the covers.”

They both scrambled under Tyler’s comforter, and then Tyler tucked herself under Jamie’s chin, making a happy sound.

“Oh man,” she said, sounding like she’d run a race, and was enjoying the endorphin rush. They lay like that for a while, Jamie’s nose in Tyler mussed hair.

All of Jamie's muscles ached, like after a really good massage. She stretched, keeping one arm around Tyler’s shoulders. Tyler’s bed was comfortable, and her hair smelled good, and Jamie felt accomplished and lucky. She also felt sleepy, drifting a little in the haze of good feelings.

“I’m falling asleep,” Jamie said, as a warning, because she didn’t want to fall asleep in Tyler’s bed without permission, and maybe that would be moving too fast, or making assumptions, and she didn’t want to do that. She tried to extract her arm from underneath Tyler, carefully, but Tyler made a protesting sound and pulled her closer.

“Sarah’s at her dad’s until tomorrow night,” Tyler said, also sounding half-asleep. “Stay, it’s cool.”

Jamie thought about digging herself out, but the bed was warm, and Tyler didn’t want her to leave. She didn’t argue.

&&&

She woke up in the middle of the night, her left arm completely numb. The room was dark, but the light in the bathroom was on, and through bleary sleep she saw Tyler walk out of the bathroom, naked except for a t-shirt.

“Hey,” she said, not sure if she was awake or still asleep.

“Hey,” Tyler said, her rough deep and rough. She climbed into bed, Jamie watching her long legs shamelessly, and then Tyler kissed her forehead. “Go back to sleep,” she said.

“Mmmmhmm,” Jamie said, and rolled over so she could throw her arm over Tyler, warm and soft, and felt herself drift away.

She woke up with a start in the morning, suddenly convinced she’d slept for too long. The room was full of sunshine, and she was warm in bed, even naked. Tyler wasn’t in bed, but Jamie could hear music and smell cooking from somewhere in the house. She pulled herself to the side of the bed and looked around until she found her clothes and dressed. They were wrinkled, but there wasn’t much she could do. She looked into the bathroom - Tyler’s beauty stuff was spread out across the counter, a watermarked photo of her and Sarah bluetacked to the mirror, both of them wearing hockey jerseys. She checked out her own hair and desperately tried to use some water to tame it down before giving it up. It had a life of its own.

"Jamie?" Tyler asked from outside the room, and Jamie stuck her head out of the bathroom. "Hey you're up," Tyler said. She was standing in the door of the bedroom. "There's food if you're hungry."

Jamie smiled at her. She was just wearing a t-shirt and underwear, and somehow completely managed to pull off the morning after look.

"Sure, I could eat," she said, and followed Tyler to her kitchen. In the daylight, she could see the scattered evidence of habitation, by Tyler and Sarah, a closed door with a sign that said "Sarah's room", a trampoline in the backyard.

There was toast just out of the toaster,and Tyler gave her a plate and a butter knife.

“There’s butter or jelly in the fridge,” she said. “Help yourself.” Then she bent over to a low down cupboard, giving Jamie a truly impressive view of her ass and legs that made her turn bright red instantly. “Sarah’s away, so I usually have cereal,” Tyler said, a little muffled by the sound of her pushing stuff around the back of the cupboard. “Ah, here it is!”

She emerged with a box of Lucky Charms.

“This stuff is like drugs for kids,” she said. “I’ve been hiding it from Sarah for years. You want some?”

Jamie put her toast down, grinning. She hadn’t had Lucky Charms in years.

“Sure,” she said.

They sat next to each other at the table in Tyler’s kitchen, eating cereal, Jamie sneaking glances at Tyler when she thought she could, knowing she wasn’t winning the battle of being subtle. Tyler rested her ankle against Jamie’s leg, and Jamie didn’t move her leg the whole time.

Eventually, Tyler sat back in her chair, leaving her spoon in her bowl. Jamie paused, watching her with her eyes. She was trying to let Tyler lead the play here, but her stomach swooped nervously.

“Look,” Tyler said, and then ran a hand over the top of her head, shaking her hair out. “I haven’t dated in a long time. It’s been kinda hard with a kid, and a divorce and everything, but, I thought it was kinda time, and I like you a lot…” she trailed off, and Jamie still didn’t feel a lot wiser about what Tyler wanted out of this.

“Uh,” Jamie said, trailing her finger over the table. “I want whatever you want out of this, you know.”

When she looked up, Tyler was smiling.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m trying to say, I don’t know if I’m any good at dating, but I wanna try dating you, if you’re cool with that?”

Jamie’s smiled happened without her permission, breaking over her quickly.

“Yeah, I’m cool with that,” she said, trying to keep her voice chill but her smile impossible not to hear, and Tyler laughed and nodded.

“Great. For sure,” she said.


End file.
